"What is that?" Giovanni exclaimed in shock at the unbelievable sight before him.
The moment Ash sensed Team Rocket beginning their operation, he had Charizard transform into Mega Charizard, Bond Form. Then he climbed onto Charizard's back, and the two charged into battle together.
"Charizard, let's go! Use Flare Blitz!"
At Ash's command, the crimson-gold dragon flames surrounding Charizard instantly shifted into ghostly blue fire as it hurtled straight toward the flagship hovering at the center.
With a deafening BOOM, the airship was smashed into countless pieces.
Meanwhile, on the island in the middle of the lake, most of the Pokémon had already been evacuated. Only the strongest Pokémon remained behind alongside Alakazam and the other three guardians.
They had already prepared ambushes at every critical entrance. As long as Team Rocket dared enter through those routes, they would be greeted by a relentless assault from the waiting Pokémon.
Ash had personally joined the battle for one reason only: to find the commander of this operation.
He knew that as long as the leader was captured, the rest of Team Rocket would be nothing more than a mob of insignificant grunts.
After destroying the airship, Ash continued searching for the person in charge. If he remembered correctly, the commander this time was a woman.
As he rounded a corner, he spotted Domino.
The moment Domino saw Ash approaching on Charizard's back, she instinctively turned to flee. Ash cut her off head-on.
"Hey there, miss. Isn't it a little rude not to greet someone when we meet for the first time?"
"Who are you?" Domino demanded.
Her communicator was still active, allowing Giovanni to hear every word of their conversation.
"I'm Ash, from Pallet Town."
"Ash... Are you planning to make an enemy of Team Rocket?"
"What do you think?" Ash replied with a faint smile.
Then Giovanni suddenly heard nothing more from Domino's side.
With his sharp mind, he immediately realized what had happened.
Domino had already been subdued by Ash.
The reason Ash and Mewtwo held such a commanding advantage wasn't just because they had the right timing, the right location, and the support of the Pokémon.
More importantly, Ash and his Charizard had forged an extraordinarily powerful bond, granting Charizard strength capable of rivaling that of Legendary Pokémon.
After being restrained by Ash, Domino glared at him unwillingly.
"Kid, do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"Ma'am, I don't think you understand your current situation."
"To be honest, Team Rocket really is impressive. But let's be honest. Within your organization, aside from you mostly everyone else is..."
"And now that you're in my hands, you've lost your bargaining chip against Mewtwo. Do you really think Giovanni still has the time to worry about you?"
From the beginning until now, Giovanni had remained completely silent.
It seemed Ash had hit the mark.
After tying Domino up, Ash tossed her over to Team Rocket's trio.
"This is your responsibility now. Teach her that line you three are always shouting whenever you get blasted off."
"Heh, leave it to us!" This kind of job was Team Rocket's specialty.
After confirming that everything on the island was under control, Ash rode Charizard over to Mewtwo's side.
At the moment, those two machines posed no threat to Mewtwo unless Mewtwo willingly entered them.
And that was never going to happen.
"Giovanni, I actually had the chance to visit your Viridian Gym before. Unfortunately, you'd already left by then. What a shame."
Hearing Ash's relaxed tone, Giovanni wished he could tear him apart.
"So you're Ash. I have to admit, you're quite capable. But you'll continue traveling sooner or later. As long as Mewtwo stays by your side, you'll always be in danger. Aren't you afraid?"
"Afraid? If I were, I wouldn't be worthy of being Mewtwo's partner. Besides, you're welcome to come after me anytime."
As he spoke, Ash extended his right fist.
Understanding what he meant, Mewtwo raised its left hand, formed a fist, and gently bumped it against Ash's.
That single gesture made its feelings perfectly clear.
"The mission has failed. Retreat."
That was the final order Giovanni issued.
"Mewtwo... Sooner or later, you'll be mine."
After leaving behind that threat, Giovanni withdrew with the rest of Team Rocket.
As for Domino, she delivered the famous "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" line flawlessly. It was obvious the trio had put a lot of effort into coaching her.
"Mewtwo, if I remember correctly, you have the ability to erase memories, right?"
Mewtwo nodded.
A blue glow flashed across its eyes.
Nothing appeared to happen, but every member of Team Rocket instantly forgot everything that had happened during this operation.
"Ash, your Charizard has become much stronger. Your Pokémon are all remarkable. And... I feel like some kind of connection has formed between us."
Ash smiled.
"That's called a bond."
"A bond... What a fascinating thing."
Afterward, Ash used the Clear Bell Suicune had once given him to summon Suicune.
With Suicune's help purifying the lake, the water became even cleaner than before.
"Ash, after that battle, I finally understand. Even clones are still Pokémon. They also have the right to live alongside this world. They deserve to step into the human world as well."
"So you've finally figured it out."
A satisfied smile appeared on Ash's face. It seemed all the time he had spent guiding Mewtwo hadn't been in vain.
Mewtwo looked at the boy standing before it.
From the day they first met until now, Ash had surprised it time and time again.
Perhaps following him wouldn't be such a bad choice.
"Ash, I want to stay by your side and witness more of this world's wonders."
After a moment of thought, Mewtwo finally spoke.
"What?"
Not only Ash, but Misty and Brock were equally stunned.
Mewtwo had actually taken the initiative to ask to follow a Trainer it had only met twice?
"You were the one who helped me understand this truth. You were also the one who chose to help me protect this place. No matter how I look at it, I owe you a debt."
"Allow me to become your guardian."
Ash froze for a brief moment before a smile spread across his face.
"Alright. Then, from now on, let's take good care of each other."
And just like that, during this visit to Mount Quena, Ash gained perhaps the most powerful hidden member of his team: Mewtwo.
...
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